By JERRY BYRD Jr., Journal Sports
The Airline Vikings, with first-year head coach Justin Scogin, wasted no time in making a statement in the 69th annual Bossier Lions Club Jamboree Friday night on their homefield. In fact, they made three of them in the first half against the Benton Tigers.
Airline’s offense, led by sophomore Ben Taylor, scored three touchdowns in the first frame en route to a 27-14 surprise over Benton.
Junior running back Tre’ Jackson opened the scoring on the fourth play from scrimmage with a 35-yard touchdown run through the heart of the Benton defense. On their next series, it was Airline’s Kaylin Jackson on a 12-yard touchdown run.
With only two seconds left in the half, Taylor hit Bob Patterson on third and goal from two yards out.
“Ben did a great job,” Scogin said. “He went out and kind of took over the game. He’s a great young kid, just a sophomore. It’s a big environment. He did a great job.”
While the Tigers stumbled out of the gate, Benton’s senior quarterback Gray Walters, with the help of running backs Greg Manning and Ethan Johnson, was able to sustain a drive and get the Tigers on the board with just under two minutes to go in the half.
Walters showed patience and persistence as he found Andy Lim in the endzone on a third and goal from the 13. The two connected on the play before, but Benton was penalized for having linemen downfield.
It was a special night for Benton head coach Reynolds Moore as he had the honor of escorting his daughter, Caroline, who was Benton’s Jamboree Queen.
“That was really special, man,” Moore said. “This is year 10 for us. We’ve done this eight times, I guess. Benton is home, and it’s really cool to be a part of that.”
Another thing that was special for Benton was the play of both quarterbacks.
“Gray played well in the first half,” Moore said. “We had some issues with a slippery ball. We will get that fixed. Then Jeffery (King) came in the second half and played really well.”
Both Benton and Airline dipped into their quarterback depth in the second half.
King made an immediate impact, leading the Tigers on a nine-play drive which ended with the quarterback running the ball around left end on a gun option keep, which made it 20-14 with 9:37 left.
Airline answered as Taylor completed passes of 15 and 34 yards to Daxton Chavez. Jackson got his second touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run to complete the scoring.
It was the first time Scogin was able to experience a “big-time” high school environment at Viking Stadium.
“It (the environment) was fantastic,” Scogin said. “It’s everything I thought it would be. That’s why I went after this job — for nights like this. And it’s only the jamboree. Holy cow! We’ve had 10,000 people watching us play in a scrimmage and a jamboree. This is what I envisioned when I took the job.”
Bossier over Plain Dealing, 22-0
Bossier’s Lebrandon Davis rushed for two touchdowns in the first half on runs of 2 and 89 yards to give the Bearkats a 16-0 lead at intermission.
Bossier successfully completed both two-point conversions. The first was a pass from Quintarion Scott to Sen’tavian Ball. The second two–point conversion was a 3-yard run by Jayden Goosby.
In the second half, Bossier’s Keyshun Johnson padded the Bearkat lead with a touchdown run inside the Plain Dealing 10-yard line.
“We have a lot to work on,” Bossier head coach DeAumante Johnson said. “Overall, the kids played well. They executed on a few things. There is so much more we have to work on. But overall, I’m happy.”
Plain Dealing’s Tyrese Kimble was one of the standouts on both sides of the ball for the Lions, who only had five players dressed out on the sideline when their starting 11 were on the field.
“He is a sophomore who started for us as a freshman,” new Plain Dealing head coach Clint Walker said. “He has come a long way and he has a long way to go. He is a good, tough football player. We just have to learn some of the minute things when it comes to his position.”
Senior Cole Modisette, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines, was another player who caught Walker’s eye Friday night.
Parkway over Haughton, 13-0
Parkway head coach Coy Brotherton has made it clear that he does not like facing his brother, Jason, who is the head coach at Haughton High School, during the regular season. But what about a jamboree setting?
“It’s a little more laid back and not as stressful, for sure,” Coy Brotherton said. “It was fun out here tonight. Twenty-five years ago he was out here playing and I was a ball boy. We never thought we’d be out here 25 years later coaching against each other so it’s pretty special.”
Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com